Rostislav Belyakov dies, was designer for MiG fighter jets

Published 4:05 pm, Sunday, March 2, 2014

Moscow -- The maker of MiG fighter jets says that its chief designer Rostislav Belyakov has died. He was 94.

The company said in a statement that Mr. Belyakov died Friday in Moscow following an unspecified illness.

Mr. Belyakov became the MiG chief designer in 1969, succeeding the firm's founder, Artyom Mikoyan, and led the development of a family of MiG fighters, including the MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-29 and their versions, which have been the backbone of the Soviet and then the Russian air force.

Mr. Belyakov joined the MiG company as a young engineer in 1941 and quickly rose through the ranks to become a deputy chief designer in 1957.

He was showered with state awards and honors, but his name was unknown to the public until the Soviet collapse.

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